Torah Thoughts and Reflections on the Jewish World

Making Every Moment a Mitzvah Moment

Most of us are likely overwhelmed by daily life : work, studies, housework, etc. No reason to despair: Every moment can be a mitzvah moment. Not that you can necessarily be involved in one of the 613 mitzvot – or rabbinic mitzvot – every minute of the day. However, the Rambam reminds us בכל דרכיך דעהו – “know Him in all your ways”. We can literally transform every second of our lives into a mitzvah.

Let’s say you are about to spend a day with your aging parent. But are exhausted from a week of work. While you are sipping your morning coffee, have in mind that it is going to help you stay alert and productive to fulfill Kibud Av V’em (honoring parents) more effectively.

The physical act of drinking coffee becomes a halachic extension of the mitzvah!

I love this. It is so easy to get caught up in our daily routines. Thinking in this manner can assist you in pulling you out of the hum-drum. It can help create those “Be Here Now” moments and actually think about your actions in a broader way. Plus it can assuage the guilt of that 2nd or 3rd cup, right?

Karen, thanks for your comment. As one who is attempting to cut down on coffee consumption, I don’t want to encourage a second or third cup….but – I think that there is a bigger issue here, and that is the Jewish conception of “Avodat Hashem”. Unfortunately, over the past century, American Jews fell prey to the Christian concept that religion is something you “do” in your house of worship. This helps explain the Reform and Conservative obsession with participation in synagogue rituals as defining one’s Jewish identity. And this concept of בכל דרכיך דעהו expands even the classic perception of halachic Judaism, which sometimes takes on the face of being overly-obsessed with the minutest details of the halacha, while ignoring the big picture of being an עובד השם….